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Back Daughter of Eden
Chapters (68)
  1. Title page
  2. Dedication
  3. Part I
  4. One
  5. Two
  6. Three
  7. Four
  8. Five
  9. Six
  10. Seven
  11. Eight
  12. Nine
  13. Ten
  14. Eleven
  15. Twelve
  16. Thirteen
  17. Fourteen
  18. Fifteen
  19. Sixteen
  20. Seventeen
  21. Eighteen
  22. Nineteen
  23. Twenty
  24. Twenty-one
  25. Twenty-two
  26. Twenty-three
  27. Twenty-four
  28. Twenty-five
  29. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 20. 20:25 MT.
  30. Part II
  31. Twenty-six
  32. Twenty-seven
  33. Twenty-eight
  34. Twenty-nine
  35. Thirty
  36. Thirty-one
  37. Thirty-two
  38. Thirty-three
  39. Thirty-four
  40. Thirty-five
  41. Thirty-six
  42. Thirty-seven
  43. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 22. 20:05 MT.
  44. Thirty-eight
  45. Thirty-nine
  46. Forty
  47. Forty-one
  48. GAIA YOUNG. SUBJECTIVE IMPRESSIONS.MISSION DAY 25. 15:30 MT.
  49. Forty-two
  50. Forty-three
  51. Forty-four
  52. Forty-five
  53. Forty-six
  54. Forty-seven
  55. Forty-eight
  56. Forty-nine
  57. Fifty
  58. Fifty-one
  59. Fifty-two
  60. Fifty-three
  61. Fifty-four
  62. Part III
  63. Fifty-five
  64. Fifty-six
  65. Fifty-seven
  66. Fifty-eight
  67. Also by Chris Beckett
  68. Copyright page

The woman sobbed. ‘But my boy Luke? He’s not so bad really. Surely there must be some hope for him?’

Still Mary held her hand tightly. ‘Gela is reaching out for him now,’ she said, her own eyes filling with tears. ‘She’s whispering to him, she’s begging him to come back home to his mother and his True Family, the people of David. Let’s trust in Gela, eh? She’s a true mother, my dear. She’ll never never give up.’

What would Mary think, I wondered, if she knew my friend Starlight was living at that moment with the high people in New Earth, and wearing the stolen ring on her finger?

But Mary had moved on to something else.

‘Gela wants me to warn you about a bad bad thing that’s happening right here in Veeklehouse,’ she said. ‘It’s as harmful in its own way as the Johnfolk are with their lies. In some ways it’s even worse, because it’s secret and hidden away. I’m sure some of you already know what I’m talking about. Gela needs your help to make it stop.’

And now she started talking about some secret words that certain foolish mothers passed on in secret to their daughters, claiming that the words came from Gela herself.

‘What could be worse?’ asked Mary, walking round the circle of people, peering one by one into women’s faces. ‘What could be worse than pretending to speak for our Mother?’

She stopped in front of a young batfaced woman, about the same age as me, and stared intently into the woman’s eyes.

‘You’ve heard it, haven’t you, my darling? You’ve been told the Secret Story yourself ?’

The batface girl began to sob. Mary threw her arms round her.

‘You’re not in trouble, my dear. You’re not in trouble at all. No one can blame you for hearing it. And as for your mum – was it your mum?’ The girl nodded, still in Mary’s arms. ‘Well, she’s been foolish, but now she’s been found out, and we can help her to see sense again.’

She looked round at the other people, over the weeping girl’s shoulder.

‘This brave young woman has done the right thing. If anyone’s told you this so-called Secret Story, or if you know of anyone that’s telling it, then you should talk to your guards and get their help in having it stopped. Because it’s all wrong! It’s all nonsense. Mother Gela is alive right now, alive and speaking to us! She talks to you directly and she talks to you through her shadowspeakers. What need could she possibly have for whispered stories that are supposed to come from the past?’